Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a process used for the printing of three-dimensional objects, for example by printing or building parts of such objects in layers. Such 3D objects may be used, for example, for prototype parts.
Various systems have been developed for three-dimensional printing, wherein material for object printing is deposited in consecutive layers according to a pre-determined configuration or in selected arrays as defined by, for example, a Computer Aided Design (CAD) system connected to the printing systems. Such materials may include materials for constructing an object and materials used for constructing support structures for an object.
According to some apparatuses, systems and methods for 3-D printing, predetermined or preprogrammed configurations and designs using, for example, CAD software, may aim at obtaining as accurate a final product as possible. However, each printed product or model is different, whether in shape, design, size, bulk, composition and so on, and these differences may be affected by different factors during the printing process, such as heat, chemical reactions of the photopolymer material to curing, internal strains (e.g., within the object) due to strains such as, for example shrinkage of the materials during curing and/or cooling, environmental influences within the printing apparatus, for example temperature fluctuations etc. Adverse effects may take on different forms such as various deformations in the finished product. In addition, the quality of the finished product may be affected by these and other factors.